Tag: child in the kitchen

Shortbread cookies

Shortbread cookies use the sweet short crust pastry as a base.  After it is just a matter of having a few cookie cutters at home.  Children can decorate them with coloured sugar balls, sultanas, nuts or fondant.

Ingredients:
  • 250 g plain flour
  • 125 g softened butter
  • 125 g white sugar
  • 1 egg
Method:
  1. In a large bowl, mix all ingredient together and form a ball.  Over a few movements, knead it on the kitchen bench to ensure cohesion (20 seconds max). Rest for 15-20 minutes.
  2. Dust the kitchen bench with flour to prevent sticking. Place the dough on the kitchen bench.  Dust the top similarly. Roll with the rolling-pin to 6 to 8 mm thick. Ensure the bottom is not stuck by lifting the pastry gently. Add more flour underneath of necessary.
  3. Using cookie cutters make the shapes and transfer them onto a baking sheet covered with baking paper.
  4. If the children want to decorate, use sultanas or pieces of nuts or sugar balls. Smarties work well too.
  5. Bake 10-15 minutes on 160 degrees Celsius until light blonde. Remove from the oven and slide the base on a cooling rack using the baking paper.  Allow to cool.

Kitchen taken over by my children!

My kitchen is being taken over by my children! It started with a menu written by Ambrine a few weeks ago, then a tentative to make a chocolate dip Nutella like which saw the stock of chocolate seriously reduced (I wasn’t home), a tentative to make caramel in the micro-wave (with chocolate, I wasn’t home either), a double serie of strawberry & white chocolate cookies, because the first ones were eaten sooooo quickly.  This weekend, we were treated by a full breakfast with coddled eggs.  And now a massive bunch of chocolate hazelnut friands for a school assignment.

friands choco noisette

The latest item was not to be so significant until a few kids at school came together with the idea to bring in their goods to the class.  The assignment reads “Masterchef: your masterchef challenge…Bake some cookies for your family. Use photos or a drawing to show how you shared them equally.”  It seems like the brief has been adapted to fit the fun of sharing!

You are in for a treat, the strawberry and white chocolate cookies

So lets share today the strawberry and white chocolate cookies.  Children love them (tested for you on a few different families).  Personally, I really like them warm, when not completely cooled yet, simply because I am not a big fan of white chocolate.  Small warning, it is also quite sweet. What I really like is that the recipe shared the fats between cream cheese and butter, it brings in a really nice taste which works perfectly with strawberries and white chocolate.

cookies aux fraises et chocolat blanc

Recipe from the blog omgchocolatedesserts adapted for units and technical preferences (more practical, less washing up too!).

Ingredients
  • 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt (remove if using salted butter)
  • 1/4 cup  butter-softened
  • 120 g cream cheese
  • 3/4 cup caster sugar (1/2 cup is probably enough, I find them a bit sweet)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup chopped fresh strawberries
  • 2 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 150 g white chocolate-chopped
Method
  1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
  2. Pour fresh lemon juice over chopped strawberries, drain them after a few minutes. Chop in pieces as convenient (not less than one centimetre)
  3. Beat butter with sugar and cream cheese until it’s light and fluffy.  Cokies aux fraises et chocolat blanc
  4. Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
  5. Toss together 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, salt, chopped white chocolate, chopped stawberries and baking powder.
  6. Add flour mixture to the wet mixture and fold in gently.  Either use a large scoop or your hand.
  7. Drop heaping tablespoon of batter onto a baking sheet covered with baking paper. Make sure to leave a couple centimetres space in between.
  8. Set the cookies in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes before baking.
  9. You can choose to bake them for 13-15 minutes until the edges become golden brown, they will be very chewy and quite friable, I baked my second round with spots of golden brown over the top, it was a bit easier to handled and when cold they are more tasty (more cooked).
  10. Transfer the baking paper to the cooling rack (slide it).  Let the cookies cool a few minutes and them remove from the baking paper.

Children’s Kitchen

Welcome to the children’s kitchen.  I am proposing this section of the blog dedicated to parents, au-pairs, carers who are looking for ideas to involve the children in the kitchen or to prepare something for them.

You can choose to explore:

Bonne mousse au chocolat

Cooking for and with kids

Kids in the kitchen

School Lunch Boxes

Kids Birthday Cakes